Match Summary vs. Simpson /
Match Summary vs. UW-La Crosse /
GameDay Online
Wartburg Invitational Homepage
WAVERLY, Iowa — With their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener just days away, Saint Mary's University volleyball coach
Mike Lester was hoping his Cardinals could pick up a good head of steam at the Wartburg Invitational Friday and Saturday.
Friday's performance left the Cardinals spinning their wheels, as SMU opened with a solid 3-1 win over Coe, but struggled after winning the opener set in falling to host Wartburg 3-1.
And it didn't get a whole lot better for SMU on Saturday, as Simpson steamrolled past the Cardinals in three straight (25-16, 25-15, 25-18),while UW-La Crosse handed SMU its second straight lopsided loss of the day, 25-20, 25-20, 25-21.
Yet, despite the 1-3 tournament record, Cardinal coach
Mike Lester still felt like his team accomplished its mission — have a bit of positive momentum heading into its conference opener.
"The key to our whole weekend was the UW-La Crosse match," said Lester. "We needed to play well in that match, and while we still may have lost 3-0, I thought we played very well."
Jessica Mate (St. Charles, Ill.) was the team's offensive leader against the Storm and Eagles, collecting 17 kills and 10 digs in the two matches combined — including a 10-kill effort against UW-L that saw the SMU sophomore hit .455.
Amy Kujak (River Falls, Wis.) chipped in 14 kills on the day, while
Theresa Perrini (Fairway, Kan.) tallied 48 digs and
Brittany Cherwinka (Faribault, Minn.) had 48 assists.
"This was a talented tournament field," said Lester, whose team moved to 8-6 overall heading into Wednesday's conference opener. "We faced some very good competition, and there's no question that will help us as we get ready for Hamline."
